41502 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 145 / Monday, July 30, 2007 / Notices 

costs will be calculated by multiplying 

the billed charge of each claim by the 

hospital’s cost-to-charge ratio, and then 

adding 1% to that amount. 

B. Current Status of Access 

CAH providers in Alaska have 

notified the Department that they are 

considering no longer treating military 

beneficiaries due to low payment rates. 

The alternatives to local purchase of 

services for military officials are to 

transport patients to Seattle or another 

location for treatment, or to relocate 

scarce military medical assets to Alaska 

to provide services. The first is an 

expensive proposition that brings with 

it considerable lost duty time and other 

complications; the second approach is 

untenable in wartime, and as a practical 

matter medical practice in Alaska would 

not provide sufficient opportunity for 

military medical specialists to maintain 

their skills. 

C. Description of Expansion of 

Demonstration Project 

Under this demonstration, DoD will 

also waive, for services provided in the 

State of Alaska, the provisions of 10 

U.S.C. 1079(j)(2), as implemented by 32 

CFR 199.14(a) that do not exempt CAH 

providers from the Medicare Diagnostic 

Related Group payment methodology 

for inpatient services. Instead, CAHs 

will be reimbursed under the Centers for 

Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 

payment methodology of 101 percent of 

reasonable costs for inpatient care and 

outpatient care. 

This action will directly increase 

overall reimbursement levels for CAH 

providers, and is expected to result in 

increased access to care for military 

beneficiaries; reduced travel to Seattle, 

accompanied by a reduction in lost duty 

days; and improved morale for military 

members and families as a result of 

increased access and reduced 

separation. 

D. Implementation 

The expansion of the demonstration 

will be effective for inpatient 

admissions on and after July 1, 2007 and 

for outpatient services provided on and 

after July 1, 2007. 

E. Evaluation 

An independent evaluation of the 

demonstration will be conducted. The 

evaluation will be designed to use a 

combination of administrative and 

survey measures of health care access to 

provide analyses and comment on the 

effectiveness of the demonstration in 

meeting its goal of improving 

beneficiary access to healthcare by 

maximizing the potential pool of 

healthcare providers in Alaska. 

Dated: July 24, 2007. 

L.M. Bynum, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, DoD. 

[FR Doc. E7–14681 Filed 7–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

Defense Science Board 

AGENCY: Department of Defense. 

ACTION: Notice of Advisory Committee 

Meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Defense Science Board 

Task Force on Developmental Test and 

Evaluation will meet in closed session 

on August 22–23, 2007 and September 

19–20, 2007 at Science Applications 

International Corporation (SAIC), 4001 

N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA. These 

meetings will examine Test & 

Evaluation roles and responsibilities, 

policy and practices, and recommend 

changes that may contribute to 

improved success in Initial Operational 

Test and Evaluation along with quicker 

delivery of improved capability and 

sustainability to Warfighters. 

The mission of the Defense Science 

Board is to advise the Secretary of 

Defense and the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Acquisition, Technology & 

Logistics on scientific and technical 

matters as they affect the perceived 

needs of the Department of Defense. At 

these meetings, the Defense Science 

Board Task Force will assess: OSD 

organization roles and responsibilities 

for T&E oversight; changes required to 

establish statutory authority for OSD 

DT&E oversight, and recommend 

improvements in the DT&E process to 

discover sustainability problems earlier, 

and thus improve likelihood of 

operational sustainability in IOT&E. 

The task force’s findings and 

recommendations, pursuant to 41 CFR 

102–3.140 through 102–3.165, will be 

presented and discussed by the 

membership of the Defense Science 

Board prior to being presented to the 

Government’s decisionmaker. 

Pursuant to 41 CFR 102–3.120 and 

102–3.150, the Designated Federal 

Officer for the Defense Science Board 

will determine and announce in the 

Federal Register when the findings and 

recommendations of the May 31, 2007 

meeting are deliberated by the Defense 

Science Board. 

Interested persons may submit a 

written statement for consideration by 

the Defense Science Board. Individuals 

submitting a written statement must 

submit their statement to the Designated 

Federal Official at the address detailed 

below, at any point, however, if a 

written statement is not received at least 

10 calendar days prior to the meeting, 

which is the subject of this notice, then 

it may not be provided to or considered 

by the Defense Science Board. The 

Designated Federal Official will review 

all timely submissions with the Defense 

Science Board Chairperson, and ensure 

they are provided to members of the 

Defense Science Board before the 

meeting that is the subject of this notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MAJ 

Chad Lominac, USAF, Defense Science 

Board, 3140 Defense Pentagon, Room 

3C553, Washington, DC 20301–3140, via 

e-mail at charles.lominac@osd.mil, or 

via phone at (703) 571–0081. 

Dated: July 23, 2007. 

L.M. Bynum, 

OSD Federal Register, Liaison Officer, 

Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 07–3700 Filed 7–27–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–M 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

Defense Science Board 

AGENCY: Department of Defense. 

ACTION: Notice of Advisory Committee 

Meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Defense Science Board 

Task Force on Defense Industrial 

Structure for Transformation will meet 

in closed session on August 14, 2007, at 

Science Applications International 

Corporation (SAIC), 4001 N. Fairfax 

Drive, Arlington, VA. This meeting will 

characterize the degree of changed 

needed in industry due to the changing 

nature of DoD and the industrial Base. 

It will also examine the effectiveness of 

existing mitigation measures and make 

recommendations to ensure future 

competition and innovation throughout 

all tiers of the defense industrial base. 

The briefing will contain proprietary 

material and ensuing discussions will 

be at the collateral secret level. 

The mission of the Defense Science 

Board is to advise the Secretary of 

Defense and the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Acquisition, Technology & 

Logistics on scientific and technical 

matters as they affect the perceived 

needs of the Department of Defense. At 

the meeting, the Defense Science Board 

Task Force will: describe the defense 

industry required to cope with the 

international security environment in 

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